Germans no longer trust their state institutions

2023-08-22 15:36:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Germans no longer trust their state institutions

Only 29% of citizens trust the ruling coalition

Germany was known as a country where citizens support institutions. But it seems that those times have passed. According to a survey, only 27% of citizens believe that the state is able to do its job well.

Missing classes due to a lack of teachers in schools, municipalities running out of places to house refugees, eternal waits for extensions or issuance of documents and finally a catastrophic balance of railway delays: the list of problems of the German state is tall. This affects the mood of the citizens. A study published this week showed that only 27 percent of citizens surveyed believe that the state is able to do its job. While 69 percent believe that state institutions are overburdened and that the performance of tasks for which citizens pay taxes is beyond their means.

Scary numbers

"The numbers are scary," says Ulrich Silberbach, president of the German Association of Civil Servants (dbb), which commissioned the study. He says that "the fish stinks from the head" and criticizes the bad style of government of the current coalition. "In the chancellor's office, we have a person who says that the citizens will have leadership if they want to have one. But it seems that the citizens perceive this differently", criticizes the head of the city employees' union and adds: "Dissatisfaction towards the structures in power and civil servants feel in the first place".

They in turn expect support from the government in carrying out their daily work. This mainly includes more employees, better salaries and investments in the digitization of public administration, which has lagged behind other developed countries. "The government's decision to reduce funding for digitization from 377 to 3.3 million euros is a completely wrong signal," concludes Silberbach.

The biggest problem - refugees

Një vështrim më i detajuar i sondazhit tregon se qytetarët janë veçanërisht të pakënaqur me mënyrën se si po tratjohet problemi i refugjatëve. 26 për qind e të anketuarve mendojnë se ky është problemi më i madh i shtetit, i cili po shfrytëzohet nga krahu i djathtë radikal politik, kryesisht nga partia Alternativa për Gjermaninë (AfD). Kjo parti po përfiton politikisht nga tema e refugjatëve, e cila është shndërruar në problem të madh jo vetëm në lindje por edhe në pjesën perëndimore të Gjermanisë. Qytetarët e perceptojnë ruajtjen e drejtësisë sociale në shoqëri si detyrën më të rëndësishme të shtetit. Lufta kundër ndryshimeve klimatike, që qeveria aktuale e rendit si detyrën më të rëndësishme, nuk është më aq e rëndësishme për qytetarët.

Ndarja në Lindje dhe Perëndim

Por Manfred Güllner, drejtor i Institutit Forsa, i cili kreu këtë studim tëopinionit publik, beson se sondazhi tregoi gjithashtu dallime të mëdha në prioritetet e detyrave shtetërore kur bëhet fjalë për pjesët perëndimore dhe lindore të vendit. Investimi në luftën kundër ndryshimeve klimatike është shumë më i rëndësishëm për qytetarët në Perëndim sesa në Lindje të vendit ku çështjet sociale kanë prioritet. "Këto lloj dallimesh shkaktojnë frikë”, thotë Güllner.

The AfD party, as the biggest critic of Olaf Scholz's government, is experiencing a recent surge in popularity in the east of the country. For AfD voters, the fight against climate change plays no role. While for the voters of the ecological party, who mainly live in the West of the country and in urban centers, investing in environmental standards is the most important task of the state./DW